


sweets to the sweet

by phosphenical



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, pre-canon bodybuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8235967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phosphenical/pseuds/phosphenical
Summary: why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 
blood covers your hands, and you have sinned.





	

**Author's Note:**

> little capitalization for stylistic effect
> 
> i love mercy she's so good, reaper can catch THESE HANDS

you had told them from the very beginning that you were not going to pick a side. you joined a peace-keeping organization, not one that sought to tear the world apart – much less tear itself apart from the infighting.

you had also tried to tell them to figure themselves out sooner rather than later. they did not listen to you. you were a young prodigy, a genius, but not even you could have predicted the horrific events that unfolded.

you saw what war did to your parents. it left you an orphan and so, so alone. you saw what war did to good men. it turned them sour like rotten fruit.

you saw it when you looked at the remains of the Swiss headquarters. there was the smell of rotting flesh and you have to cover your mouth with your hand to try and force the bile down. you've seen your fair share of mangled corpses, but somehow knowing the fact that Reyes and Morrison were in there made it much worse.

there was blood and a man who was supposed to be dead. _i can save him,_ you think to yourself, and you force your hands to stop trembling. Angela is replaced by Doctor Ziegler. it is easy to detach yourself from the situation when you tell yourself that it wasn't Reyes who was fading before your eyes. it wasn't Reyes who was choking out whimpers and writhing in pain.

_i can save him,_ you think to yourself, and you believe it.

 

* * *

 

god, you were not sure you ever heard such screams before. they pull at your heart until you're surprised to see that it isn't on the operating table alongside Reyes' mangled visage. you do not remember the last time you slept.

you do not let yourself stop.

 

* * *

 

you are not sure if it was the screams or the silence that disturbed you more. Reyes had yet to become responsive. you noticed that he would sometimes open his eyes and carefully follow you as you moved around the room, but the moment you tried to gently remind him where he was he would shut down once more.

 

you are not sure if he recognizes you. 

 

(you are not sure you want him to.)

 

it wasn't so long ago when you found yourself in awe of wonders of modern science. your research spearheaded technology that saved countless lives, and you were proud of that. all you had ever wanted to do was help the world and its people.

 

you didn't want any more orphans to suffer the way you did. if you shouldered the work, they would not have to. you release a slow breath as the cells in front of your eyes degenerate and repair themselves in rapid succession.

 

it is like the moon pulling the tide of the ocean – life and death are both struggling for a foothold and neither side can gain an advantage in the deadly dance.

 

_this will save him._

 

* * *

 

you gently place the elastic bands of the surgical mask around what little remains of Reyes' ears. "for comfort," you tell him with a reassuring smile and yet he does nothing. you think that you may have seen his fingers twitch the other day, but all his concentration is placed towards keeping his body whole and together.

 

the silence was only broken when you explained to him how you had saved him. you had been visibly shaken from his screams of pain and rage for hours after, only able to stare at a wall and force yourself to breathe.

 

the skin on his face is raw. he had lost all of his hair. you are not certain what the limits of his new body are. perhaps he could make himself appear as he had always been, but for now you are more concerned with keeping his vitals constant.

 

it was difficult to do when he seemed to phase out of existence itself, dark smoke curling around the legs of the bed.

 

you ask yourself why it had come to this. why violence had to be the first solution they tried. you knew what happened to the Swiss headquarters was no accident, not like what the reporters were saying on the old television set.

 

you still have not contacted anyone about Reyes' status. there is something holding you back. guilt, perhaps, but then you shake your head and tell yourself that you have saved a life, you have done the right thing. there is nothing that should be staying your hand, but every time you reach for communicator you stop.

 

a little longer is what you promise yourself. as soon as you know Reyes' will make it through without a doubt, that's when you would tell everyone. the loss of Jack has cut a ragged hole in your heart and you will not be able to stitch it together again.

 

* * *

 

two weeks later and you walk into an empty room. at first it is wishful thinking that he is okay, that he is wandering around the quiet facility. Reyes always liked to know his surroundings, you knew that.

 

it becomes quickly apparent that you are wrong.

 

Reyes is nowhere to be found. the past few days his body had been morphing into something not entirely human. he refused to remove the mask covering his mouth and his fingers were curling into the vague shape of something more animalistic. you would blink and they would right themselves, but the image haunts you when you close your eyes.

 

you do not know if his body simply gave up from the stress of the nanobots. you do not know if he vanished into nothing, if his soul went with him, if he just ran away, if

 

_you do not know and that frightens you more than anything else._

 

you look down at your hands and wonder if you created a monster.

 

_i didn't_ , you tell yourself. _i did my best to save him._

 

(you do not believe it.)

 

* * *

 

death comes like a hurricane with a clawed hand encompassing your throat and lifting you off of the ground. you choke, you splutter, you scramble to try and pry it away but you cannot.

 

you were not built for fighting and you have always known this.

 

your own creation stands in front of you, an amalgamation of hatred and suffering. " _Gabriel,_ " you strain to be heard.

 

you know that there was a limit to death, and you realize too late that you have crossed the line. some things that were lost were meant to remain lost, and it was your own selfishness that clung to the hope you could save everyone.

 

your experimentation went too far. you did not save Reyes out of kindness, you slowly understand. you saved him for yourself. there is a crack and suddenly your vision begins to dance.

 

you have fallen to the ground.

 

_Gabriel_ , you try to say. _what happened to you?_

 

Reaper is the one to look down on you. _you happened._

 

you feel yourself slowly fading and you know there is no one there to save you.

 

you are not sure you want to be saved.


End file.
